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Wednesday, August 29, 2012

French versus English Volume 60

Dear Readers,

I've reversed the order of posts so that on Friday, I can offer an election wrap-up, for whatever it's worth.

Facebook Campaign to save English cegep goes viral

Days after Pauline Marois announced her party would block access to
English CEGEPs for most francophone and allophone high school students
if elected, Tania Lefrançois sent the Parti Québécois leader a message
via Facebook.

“I am proud to have done my studies in English at
CEGEP St. Lawrence,” she wrote in French. “It’s one of the best
decisions that I took for my professional future and for my openness to
the world. I think that every Quebecer should be bilingual or at least
understand English, because it’s our SECOND OFFICIAL LANGUAGE and
because this language is necessary as soon as you put one foot outside
of Quebec.”

Marois’s “so-called measures” to promote French, prove that voting for her is a big mistake, she wrote.
Lefrançois
is apparently not the only person to share the sentiment. In the week
since she posted it, her message had been “Liked” on Facebook 42,330
times as of Monday, and generated 5,400 comments, most of them
supportive and most in French, much to Lefrançois’ amazement. Read More

Pauline tells another whopper

It's a little disconcerting when the next potential Premier of Quebec makes statements that are patently false.
Pauline has given wings to the next great urban myth, that 25% of stores in downtown Montreal don't offer service in French.
Cobbling together and misinterpreting facts is the bane of separatists like Mario Beaulieu, the worst offender of the lot, mixing lies with twisted statistics, to misinform in an effort to fool the people.

Nowhere in the OLF report does it say how many stores refuse to offer French service, probably because the number is minuscule and limited to Ma and Pa operations when there is one clerk in the store.
Of the 25% of stores that 'violate' Bill 101, three-quarters of the offences are because their corporate name is English, something that remains a bone of contention.
According to Marois, if all of the thousands of signs, product labels, bills, etc., in the store are in complete agreement with the law, the store is still an offender because of its English name.

That is what this blueneck is telling us..

Trying to rehabilitate his name Michaud runs afoul of the law

There was a bit of sweet karma this week as blowhard Yves Michaud continues his Don Quixotesque quest, a sad attempt to clear his name in regards to a unanimous 2000 National Assembly motion, that basically branded him as a racist. Read about the Michaud Affair.

Michaud reminds me of that sweet old cracker down in the deep south, who tells the family at the dinner table that he isn't a racist, it's just a fact that the 'darkies' are thick.

Michaud was cited for his remarks in a radio interview where he complained that the Jews voted against sovereignty en masse and intimated that they were bad citizens of Quebec for doing so. According to Michaud, if they were good citizens, a good number of them would have voted for sovereignty.

Nope, he's definitely not a racist...hmm.

At any rate he's been trying to get that motion overturned, without much success for over the last twelve years.
His latest gambit is to implore voters not to support the dozen or so members of the National Assembly, who voted for the motion and who are running in the current election

He placed an advertisement in Le Devoir encouraging voters not to vote for these 'enemies,' but along the way, he broke the election law by paying for a political ad outside the election rules.

It is an open and shut case and when he is found guilty and fined, he'll probably have as much success overturning his conviction as he has had in overturning the National Assembly censure! Link{Fr}

French parents forced to speak English to their children

Parents in certain Ontario jurisdictions are being told to speak English while being supervised by government workers during custody visits.

Because the case workers don't speak French, they cannot monitor what is being said between parent and child, part of their mandate to make sure there is nothing untoward being said.
Some affected parents have offered to bring along an interpreter at their own expense but have been denied the right based of the principle that the interpreter might be in cahoots with the parent. Link{Fr}
The reporter who wrote the story refers to it as a case of 'Speak White,' a term I dislike but admit is appropriate in this case.

The view from Algeria

You are not doubt familiar with the story of the Saguenay mayor who insulted a PQ candidate who opined that the crucifix in the National Assembly be removed. The good mayor fumed that the foreign born Djemila Benhabib with an unpronounceable name, had no business telling 'real' Quebecers how to live. Link

Well, the story was picked up across the world and was the subject of a story in a French language Algerian newspaper.

The story was run of mill, but the comments were rather amusing.

Here's my favourite;

"I lived in Montreal for nearly ten years (what a waste!)Fellow citizens, understand that Canada/Quebec is a utopia where as soon as you put your foot down, you don't have long to wait to see the evidence that discrimination is palpable and no matter what your qualifications, there is no work for you. Work is reserved for the locals.The Quebecois do not like immigrants, nor the English nor Americans, in short they like nobody. I heard the expression: "go home," often.As soon as you arrive, you are fitted in to the process of becoming completely and totally dependent on the Quebec government, which provides a monthly check, just shabby enough not to die from hunger."Link{Fr}

Stephen Harper won't help Charest

Is Stephen Harper exacting a measure of political revenge at the expense of the Quebec Premier for past snubs, or is he exercising his keen political instinct in refusing to endorse the only true federalist leader in the Quebec provincial election?
Well, it probably is a little or rather a lot of both.

It's easy to see that in the face of a separatist Quebec government, Canadians would turn to somebody solid and rock hard to face off with a separatist Premier.
Nobody fits the bill better than Stephen Harper.

Would anybody really trust 'Uncle Tom' Mulcair to defend the interests of the ROC?
Harper must be whistling in the shower these days!

Charest does his own spinnerama

Much to the consternation of Anglos, Jean Charest, in a desperate bid to shore up support, told reporters that he planned to ask the federal government to apply Bill 101 to federally chartered companies as well as to federal government offices in Quebec. Link

Like the good Pauline who was forced to retract some foolish remarks she made concerning Quebec citizenship, Charest climbed down from that position, less than 48 hours later. Link

Ex-MP Marlene Jennings told Anglos that perhaps it was time to vote CAQ, something that caught Charest by surprise, as if Anglos don't read the French Press and were somehow unaware of the betrayal.
Yesterday he clarified things by saying he'd ask the Feds to increase the use of French, not to impose Bill 101.
Well, that made everything clear!

Odds'n Ends

Official Languages Commissioner Graham Fraser says his office will
conduct more than 1,500 anonymous observations this fall at airports in
Halifax, Quebec City, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton and
Vancouver, to check on bilingualism. Link

Pauline is upset that the next Supreme Court judge will be picked by Stephen Harper and that the committee helping him make the selection includes notorious separatist-bater Stephane Dion.
Madame Marois would like a veto over any such choice. Link{Fr}

Some Francophones are complaining that they are paying for the education of Anglophones because many Anglophones take their education and promptly quit the province, in other words doing what I have dubbed as a 'mistersauga' Link{Fr}

Jacques Parizeau continues the fine tradition of PQ infighting:"Former Parti Québécois premier Jacques Parizeau’s has publicly endorsed Jean-Martin Aussant, the Globe and Mail reports.
Mr. Aussant is the leader of the Option Nationale, a newly-founded
sovereigntist party that is challenging the PQ in a number of “blue”
ridings, by snubbing Pauline and the PQ, supporting the Option Nationale.LINK

I really don't know what to make of the Quebec solidaire candidate Christian Bibeau, running in Sherbrooke, who pointed out that 5,000 people living in that city don't have Canadian citizenship and that 10% of them don't speak French.
Sherbrooke and vicinity has a population of around two-hundred thousand, making those who aren't 'Canadian' about 2½% of the population and those that can't speak French at .025% or about 500 out of the the 200,000 citizens.
Hardly a crisis, one would think.. Link{Fr} Quebecers as lousy tippers?
According to ABC News,
some restaurants in Burlington, Vt., are tacking on at least 18 per
cent to the food bills of diners who speak a foreign language – and by
foreign language, they mean French. As the broadcaster points out, the
Vermont town is less than 160 kilometres from Montreal and attracts
plenty of Canadian visitors each summer. And it appears we Canadians are
considered lousy tippers.

English CEO makes waves
"Quebec’s language hawks are bearing down on the selection of a
non-French speaker to lead SNC-Lavalin Inc., barely three days after he
was named to the job.

American Robert Card, an engineering veteran with almost 40 years
experience, was announced as SNC’s new chief executive after markets
closed Friday. He starts on October 1.

French language rights group Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste denounced
the selection, calling it “deplorable” that Mr. Card, an American who
doesn’t speak French, was chosen to lead one of Quebec’s largest and
most storied companies." Link

In his column: CEGEP? It’s urgent!, Bock-Côté once again demonstrates his deep aversion to English... as well as to anglophones.

Oh yes. He is quite right when he stresses that some people "accuse others of practising anglophobia." And if such is the case, dear Mathieu, it is because we are reduced to this. No other justification can explain such hysterical comments.

According to Bock-Côté, extending Bill 101 to CEGEPs is a result of “Quebecers’ assertion of their identity."

Umm ... is “Quebecers’ identity” now defined as 'unilingual French?'

Sorry, but suppressing the freedom of young adults to attend English CEGEPs has nothing to do with "identity assertion". It has to do with typically tribal behaviour. It has to do with fear and especially with the contempt and the intrinsic lack of confidence towards allophones, who have already done all of their primary and secondary education in French, thanks to Bill 101.

According to Bock-Côté, "CEGEP is no longer simply an additional step in the schooling of youth. One does not simply select an occupation there. One selects a social environment there. "

Umm ... no....

In real life, last time I checked, when students choose a CEGEP and a study program, they are choosing an occupation. And if they happen to choose an English CEGEP, it's probably because they want to increase their chances of social mobility, to access better jobs.

Oh, I well know where this idea that CEGEP attendance constitutes a threat to French linguistic purity comes from (see here what I think of this supposed study). But coming from someone like Bock-Côté, who so loudly criticized the way the Ministry of Education technocrats have appropriated the educational system, one can only deplore that this same man now appropriates the powers of the state to convert the francophones and allophones of Quebec into unilingual francophones!

According to Bock-Côté, "this is a case of adapting Bill 101 to the demands of our times"!

Umm ... no. If we wanted to "adapt Bill 101 to the demands of our times", we should rather leave it alone. In the real world, especially that in which people work in private companies with customers outside Quebec, English is not only necessary but is absolutely required for the survival of the company.

Finally, for Bock-Côté, "hysterical anti-nationalism is back in fashion", “English threatens French” (as opposed to the poor quality of the teaching of French that is taught in our public schools ...), "the multicultural ideology discredits the Quebec identity", and brace yourselves, we are witnessing the "return of an old fad: Speak White, boy! And don’t you dare complain! "

HATING QUEBECERSBut what is most distressing in all of this, is the unfairness of this tightening of Bill 101, primarily towards the regions but also towards low-income families. Indeed, while opportunities to learn English may be greater in Montreal (which is debatable), in the regions, it is a whole other story.

And then, there is little doubt that parents with solid incomes will find a way around the new ban, perhaps by English immersion, for example.

"Born without a pot to piss in”, or the stoic acceptance of one's modest circumstances and the idea not to aspire above one's station in life is what we used to say once upon a time. Such is what linguistic obsessions are all about. Stifling Quebecers, making their lives harder than need be, harming their potential for social mobility ... that is what truly self-loathing Quebecers are all about!

"Sacrificing all for the country", as Bock-Côté states from his ivory tower.HATING FREEDOM and HARMING ONE’S CAUSE

Bock-Côté wrote a whole essay that demonstrates how separatists have hurt their own cause by associating themselves with the obsolete concept of social democracy. Well, I'll let him in on a little secret. There is another reason for this that is just as important and it is this obsession with linguistic purity that francophones have. It’s tedious ... honestly. And it certainly doesn’t give any confidence to those who are planning a new imaginary country for us.

Yo, Editor: Maybe I'll put a patent on my alias so you'll have to pay to use it! I should hope Anglophone students are milking the education system for all it's worth and then leaving. Whatever the amount, it's nowhere near what Quebec nets in equalization payments. Welcome to the wonderful world down the 401, and keep it coming!

Soooooo...Candidate John James "Goldilocks" Charest couldn't make it through a short campaign without taking a Mulcairian spinnerama pot shot at de moodzie heenglish.

West Islanders Greenfield Parkers, Chomedians, Hampsteadians, Snowdonians and other predominantly non-French constituents: When you're situated behind the voting screens next Tuesday, be forewarned of John James "Goldilocks" Charest's treason. He is NOT your friend. He'll stab you in the back AGAIN, AGAIN AND AGAIN if it's to save his political neck. YOU are the sacrificial lambs he'll bring to the slaughter and he won't think twice about sticking his sabre right in the middle of your back for his own sake.

I do have to admit, you spin a good yarn, but you fail to comprehend that our ship is damaged, the shoreline is visible, and despite what the Captain says to some of the passengers, he is the only one who wants to dock. If the idiot who never even paddled a rubber dinghy or the dummy who thinks an outboard motor should be mounted on a canoe takes over, the ship is purposely going down, or going off course to be sunk later.

Five more years of JJC is going to do a lot more damage to the separatists than it will insult us QC Canadians.

Here's the thing, this is QUEBEC, you cannot change what is. Hoping, wishing and praying that the Parti Quebecois won't return to power is as futile an exercise as hoping summer might not turn to winter. That's right, the return of the separatists is as clock-work as the changing seasons.

Though as Mr. Sauga says, we're damned either way. Whether it's Liberal or PQ, I do not see a difference. Except perhaps that one is less transparent than the other.

Quite frankly I like what I see coming. The PQ as government with the CAQ (i.e. the Trojan horse PQ!) as official opposition. Bring on the deadly poison, this will surely finish Quebec off. I have long since given up on this province, there is nothing constructive left to do but LEAVE. If they want to hold another referendum, and no doubt they will, then good...let them! It's not a question if Quebec should form its own country, it's whether Quebec deserves to be a part of Canada. And the answer is clearly: NO.

Language laws, animal abuse, asbestos, corruption, environmental abusers, etc, you name it, Quebec is guilty of it! Quebec must make even the most backwards third world countries blush!

Don't be naive though thinking that these "conservatives" are against redistribution of wealth, or for less government. They are very much in favor of redistribution, an upwards one, and they are very much in favor of big government, one that would work for the interests of the rich.

I also like the euphemism "invited to work for a community organization". I wonder what hides behind this statement, and especially behind the word "invited".

I am very surprised in reading ABC News about Quebecers' tipping practice in Vermont. You see, I have been in many parts of the world and I think the tipping practices in Canada and in the United States are similar if not practically identical. I myself do my tipping the same way North and South of the border. Therefore, if there are Quebecers not giving decent tip in Vermont, they do that in bad faith since there is no way that they are doing that in Quebec also.

You might be correct that USA and Canada are more alike than any other two countries in the world, but that does not mean that there are no differences. The biggest one is that in Canada, people earn minimum wage even if they wait tables. That means that there is a minimum of 8-9$ an hour salary.

In the USA, people who wait tables get half of minimum wage and are expected to make the rest of it through tips.

Incidentally there was a survey by the government of New Brunswick into whether or not we should adopt this practice ; I'm entirely against it. It's not the job of the customer to make sure that waiting staff make minimum wage.

This means that tipping is viewed culturally very differently; in Canada it's customary to leave ~15% tip, but one can go lower than that if the service is crummy.

In the states, the usual is more around 20%, more if you particularly liked the service, and leaving less is seen as a disgrace as you are in effect making your waiter/waitress earn less than minimum wage for serving you. If you go on comment boards that discuss tipping practices in the US, you'll see that the prevailing attitude that if you get bad service the thing to do is not to withhold tip, but to tell the help what they're doing wrong and why you aren't happy.

It's also customary to tip for many more things in the States than it is in Canada; for instance I'm told that it's normal for people to tip their electrician in the USA whereas here it's unthinkable.

Furthermore, everyone I know who's worked in the tourism industry has always told me that no one tips better than Americans - and of course, no one less than Europeans.

Actually, you're wrong about waiters in Canada, at least Ontario. Minimum wage for people who normally earn a portion of their remuneration from tips in Ontario are paid a truncated minimum wage, and I'm sure it's that way in most provinces.

Your explanation is fine and dandy, but please read the article. Leaving a $1 tip after a $100 meal or 5¢ after a $40 is not a thing that one usually does, even in Quebec. If a Quebecer does that in Vermont, I guarantee that he does that in bad faith.

As such, my tipping practice is identical in Canada and in the U.S. I never have any problem in both countries.

Apparently, Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia pay different minimum wages to people who collect tips. I'm surprised about Alberta - I had heard that this wasn't the case. Nothing like checking for yourself, I guess.

The article the Editor linked said that people in waiting jobs in Quebec earned 8.25$ an hour which I took to be minimum wage, but apparently Quebec's real minimum wage is around 10$, so that's where that confusion came from.

The difference between the two seems less extreme than in the USA though, in the USA you make about half or less of minimum wage in a waiting job.

Alberta: My kids were both servers.Wages and the tips they brought home on weekends took my breath away.In Fort Mac my sun made 800 a night working bar on top of wages. I'm sure we all tip minimum 20%, more when we are all in love with server. Worst service we have had has been by the "French" in France and Canada, My hubby is Yorkshire Footballer type, retail/service pretend not to understand him,I have to get him what he needs in french.I think it's sick any proprietor would go without profit to keep the hatred alive.

Forget about the wages for a while. For me, someone who lives in Quebec must know that leaving a $1 tip after a $100 meal is not an acceptable practice. To do so in the U.S. indicates a bad intention on the Quebecer's part.

That's one thing this European will never get used to and a major hold-up to my plans to move to North America. Pay people a decent wage and let customers tip (or not) according to the quality of the service. My personal rule is £1 for average service, £2 for good service and nothing for poor service. I'm not against people making an honest living but that's the responsibility of the employer, not mine as a customer. Also, I'd like to have a fair idea of what I'm going to spend for a meal as I often order food according to price. Plus I believe that all this "compulsory tipping" is a ruse to get taxes from tipping money as well (they are not taxed anywhere in Europe), which I find rather distasteful and uncomfortably intrusive. I'm not blaming those who are used to this, but I don't think I'll ever get over the feeling of being robbed.

I wonder if it has to do with the inhuman tax rates that they're being put through - with one of the lowest incomes in Canada as well as one of the highest tax rates, who's going to have extra money to throw at charities?

Canada stat. Quebecer's work less and Vaca more than other provinces. The younger generation volunteer they've been doing it for months. Not getting too dirty walking the streets for lower tuition and a meriad of other government injustices.

Just a few excerpts from The Ottawa Citizen (Kelly Egan) this morning on the upcoming election - for SR's info in particular but for all separatists that have comments on this blog:

"Nation's problem child is acting up again:"

"PQ may win, but NCR is indivisible" - "We wake up, it's Labour Day weekend and the bloody separatists are on the verge of taking power. And now all the baloney starts again. Will there be a referendum? Will the Parti Quebecois government, secretly, govern toward creating the "winning conditions" and keep the nation - for months, years on end - guessing at the timing and the wording? Will the federal government, in order to keep the family intact, be forced to pay more attention, spend even more money, on its problem child? What a broken record. It is particularly true in the Ottawa area that sovereignty will never happen because of historic indivisibility. We are hardly giving anyone the "Canadian" Museum of Civilization in Hull sector of the National Archives in Gatineau. The National Capital Act, in fact, defines the capital region as encompassing a huge part of the Outaouais. Sorry, you can't have it. And have not the feds bent over backwards to incorporate parts of the Quebec side as integral parts of Ottawa's capital function? We need only look at the tens of thousands of federal public servants in Gatineau complexes and a policy, taken rather seriously, that roughly 25% of the federal army need be located there. So, sovereignty? Sorry, it ain't happening around here. Yet we know that a PQ victory will lead to all kinds of language-based whining and friction between two language groups that, by and large, get along just fine, thank you. Here's a prediction: If the PO forms the next government, the language police will be out the next day with renewed vigour, checking for filthy English apostrophes. Pauline Marois has not spent a moment in West Quebec. Reports now suggest she may visit the Outaouais later this week. But why would she? It's Ottawa-Gatineau: a whole other country."

Divorce is downright ugly 99.9999999999999% of the time. The last exception was back in the early 90s when the Czech Republic and Slovakia kissed as said goodbye. I wonder if Pawleen is "selling" the retention of the Canadian currency the way Parasite did. Well, they tried that in the former Czechoslovakia and after a mere 39 days, the new Slovakia had to adopt a new currency, and their currency has nowhere near the weight or signficance of the Canadian dollar. Too, would Queen Pawleen want Quebec's monetary policy under the dictates or a foreign country?

Divorce is downright ugly, and don't expect this divorce to ba anywhere nearly as amicable as things were in the former Czechoslovakia.

I agree - unfortunately the Canadian Government has not yet told Pawleen and her loyal followers that THEY ARE NOT GOING TO BE CALLING ALL THE SHOTS. Somehow, when you listen to these idiots, they think they are going to do as they like, from stealing all the real estate they like, have the Canadian dollar at their disposal, probably figure that they will keep all the military equipment now located at the bases in Quebec, to being able to travel to and from any province they like without any difficulty or border crossings! I get the feeling they think they can make their own currency, if necessary, even though the province is bankrupt and will be in even worse shape, should the rest of Canada abandon them as they surely will, following a vote for separation. Wait until the first national catastrophe such as flooding and/or wildfires and no one is there to assist or when the Indians tell them to stuff it and take their hydro-electric projects (huge money to Quebec) and tell them they will remain in Canada which, is their absolute right.

Unfortunately, up until I started reading this blog, I thought there was some hope for a compromise with these separatists (as I very seldom run across them in this area of Quebec) but I now know that they won't stop pushing us into problems until they get a little piece of their own land in which to live in their la-la-land. God, they are so ignorant, they don't realize that they are proposing to live in isolation without science or technology (which is all English based)and think Bill Gates will have all his programs translated into French through courtesy (which right now is costing the Federal government a small fortune! What a disservice they are doing to their own children and grandchildren. Short-sighted idiots.

"and think Bill Gates will have all his programs translated into French through courtesy"

I haven't heard of any major Microsoft software that is english-only, you have to go to much smaller companies to find english-only software. Major companies pay to translate their software into the major languages of the world.

@Yannick: When I worked in the public service, the Canadian french language versions of software were very difficult to purchase but that was quite awhile ago so things may have changed. If so, my apologies.

Nowadays when you install a software it asks you which language you would like to install it in - for instance my mother's laptop was already pre-French Windows 7 and everything, and that's in New Brunswick. It's quite trivial to install French software nowadays if the company is big enough.

Commercially speaking, it's a no-brainer to translate for the 190 million Brazilian market, or for the 350 million South and Central American market. But for QC, where some won't mind English only, and the rest can be sacrificed in the cost-benefit calculation (cost of translation vs. cost due to a loss of potential buyers who won't buy without a Fr sticker)?...I think such a calculation might yield a result not very satisfactory for the Fr language militants bent on closing their people in a bubble while assuring them that Fr is enough to live a life without missing a thing. (in the meantime, of course, the children of the said "militants" are stashed away in some English boarding school learning the second language in a way denied to others).

With all due respect, Cutie, you sound very, very young. This crap has been going 'round 'round baby 'round 'round like a record baby 'round 'round... For over 40 years, starting with Bill 63 in 1968 followed by the more stringent Bill 22 in 1974 and topped up by the very stringent Bill 101 in 1977. Earlier that year, an even more brutal bill was tabled but defeated for going much to far called Bill 1, i.e., the very first piece of legislation ever tabled by the PQ. I'm sure should the PQ come in, they're going to create a new Bill 1 just as stringent or worse than 25 years ago.

@Mr Sauga: Wish I were young again - I will plead guilty to not knowing all the ins and outs of Bill 101 because, in those days, I was busy working and running a home and family. Bill 101 didn't affect me in that I could send my children to English schools because my husband and I went to English schools in Quebec. Both my sons are fully bilingual and, because of that, I feel I have done my fair share to promote bilingualism in this country. I do know that not speaking French affected my ability to obtain promotions in my job. Know nothing of Bill 63 or Bill 22 but I sure hope that Canadians of all persuasions march in the streets of Quebec to stop that fanatic from imposing even more unfair regulations on her own citizens. I wish those separatists would turn on their TV, look at the trouble in the world, and appreciate what we have in this country. I'd like to shake the shit out of them for causing us so much turmoil for no valid reason except they have nothing better to do!

I think it's a non-issue: Microsoft and all other major IT companies make French products. Quebeckers will buy them as there won't be an offer for Quebec French product. Not that big a deal: not all IT products are available in British English, but if I need it I'll buy it. British English may well differ from American English by more than Quebec French differs from France French (certainly in writing, even if they have a strong North American accent that drowns the French when they speak anything other than french or English). The only fly in the ointment will be that they'll find that their new-found national identity will no longer be reflected in the products they buy, which will just be French. All in all, that's small beer.

Cutie: OK, maybe you're not a youngster, but I think you're younger than I am if you don't recall Bill 63 and esp. Bill 22. Of course, to send your kids to English schools you had to obtain documentation akin to black slaves from the south who were granted emancipation by their masters/plantation owners.

I'm confident you're a model Quebec citizen for having ensured your children are bilingual, but in a lot of cases that won't be enough. I'm sure they still won't be able to obtain jobs in the Quebec civil service even if they apply. Similarly, their applications for work will be overlooked by many if their names aren't Tremblay or Gagnon or something along those lines.

They immigrate French speakers from North Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean and these immigrants are told right to their faces by recruiters they want white Roman Catholic Québécois pur laine first and then they'll consider the leftovers.

In the 90s, I remember a story of one woman who came from the States for a visit to Quebec. She enjoyed it so much, she moved up with her kids, learned French, put her kids in French schools (as if she had a choice) and was every bit the model immigrant. Despite all her efforts, her community never accepted her or her children and there was more to it than that. She was so frustrated in the end that not only did she pack up and move back to the States, she made a point of doing this on June 24th, and we all know what day THAT is!

@Mr. Sauga: I know you're right as I have an English last name and for sure my children would not be accepted by the Pure Laine into the Quebec public service. Thank God they have never had to seek employment from that bunch. As I've learned, to my surprise, on this Blog these hardliners will never ever want to associate with anyone other than each other so from now on I'm going to raise hell every time I want my correspondence and/or services in English. I will no longer purchase any goods or services from flyers, brochures or ads that are not translated into English also and I will not go to any restaurant that does not have a bilingual menu (such as our Subway in Gatineau). It used to bother me that they did not have a bilingual menu but I shut up and put up with it. No longer. I am going to fight back now and if anyone starts up a protest movement in this area, I will help out as much as I'm physically able to. I now wish I was younger and had the energy I used to have because we're going to need it soon enough. I'm writing to both the premier and the prime minister with these complaints as a CANADIAN ANGLOPHONE! We have to start fighting back against these bullies!

You have to wonder what the goal of all these nationalist new policies are, such as extending bill 101 to cegeps.

Essentially, when you propose such laws, you can have one of two purposes:

1. You want anglos and allos to feel unwelcome and to leave

2. You are hoping that these laws will help integrate anglos and allos into the French Quebec culture.

If the purpose is to make them leave, it is a huge mistake.

We don’t have the 2011 census data yet (it will be out in Fall – we should hear a lot about it by November), but based on the 2006 census, QC francophones will have 25-27% of their population over age 65 within the next 5-8 years. This age group costs 6X more in health care for the state, plus pensions, plus all other services. So the burden on the other age groups will be enormous.

QC will need a lot of workers to pay taxes. And, as the editor mentioned in an earlier article, QC francophones are not having enough children to replace themselves (fertility rate of 1.48, although I expect it to be higher for 2011, say 1.65-1.7, still well below the replacement level of 2.1).

So, to meet the demand, they need immigrants (call them allos) and anglos to work and pay taxes.

So if the goal is to make us leave, they are shooting themselves in the foot as the whole system will gradually become unaffordable with less workers.

If the goal is to make allos and anglos integrate, their approach is counter-productive.

Few allos or anglos view these potential rules as invitations to join the QC culture. Most of them see them as attacks and signs of hatred and exclusion. These laws will do little to encourage any allo or anglo to join such an exclusionary society. So, if encouraging integration is truly their goal, the originators of these ideas have an important blind spot in their thinking.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - both here and on francophone websites - the approach has to be tolerance and openness. Law 101 has done all it can.

Look t it this way, the Americans won the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but they continued to have trouble and were facing continued attrition tactics. There was no end in sight. War had done all it could. They now had to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi and Afghani citizens by demonstrating they were not evil and that the peace was worth embracing.

It’s the same in QC. Law 101 has done all it can. Now, if you want Allos and anglos to integrate, you need to win their hearts and minds.

Firstly, I fully concur with Cutie003's response. Everything you write has merit, but 38 years is approximately half a lifetime (almost 2/3 in my case) so after half a lifetime, I'd like to think God gave me the strength to change what I can change, the courage to accept what I cannot change, and the wisdom to know the difference. I have a feeling you're still young enough and blind or cockeyed optimism is part and parcel with youth.

I've seen enough to know that not only are things not going to change for the better in the forseeable future, they're very, very likely going to get MUCH worse if you're a minority. First, let's see how the election turns out. It's not as if any politician is going to be much help to the minorities, the PLQ as best being the best of the worst.

Even with the PLQ, Premier John James "Goldilocks" Charest appointed a militant to head the OQLF during this mandate. He also hired 26 more language police. He also thumbed his nose at the Supreme Court judges who ordered him to come up with a replacement for Bill 104, and he did with so with, shall we call it Bill 104.2 He forced his Quisling minority MNAs to vote along with the rest of his caucus on all language legislation even though it was neither in the best interest of, nor at the behest of their constituents, i.e., they're all a bunch of puppets. Even in this short campaign, Premier John James "Goldilocks" Charest has already turned on the minorities. Quel surprise!

I repeat, this is the "good" party, so you can only imagine what hideous surprises the CAQ has because I wouldn't put it past them to fully stand behind the PQ. After all, the CAQ leader is a one-time péquiste and a leopard can't change its spots. With the PQ, you can imagine the horrors that lay ahead. That sick bitch has, as the editor has mentioned previously, a visceral hatred of the minorities and is looking to finish the job Camille Laurin couldn't.

I wouldn't be surprised if Quebec goes through the Dark Ages all over again. Let the parade down Highway 20 to the 401 begin!

However, when people are running an election, I believe they are trying to get themselves elected. Some stated policies may never come to pass. They are appeals that they feel can draw votes. We will see what they decided to implement and if it passes.

In the case of Mme Marois, she is essentially using the Karl Rove method of getting elected. In 2000+2004, Karl Rove felt that he could get George w. Bush elected if he divided the population on certain visceral issues.

JF Lisée is essentially our little Karl Rove. He has gambled that if he splits the population on the issue of identity, among three parties, two of which are against separation, he will come up the middle in enough ridings to claim the govt. It’ll probably work.

But, this means about 60-65% of the population will be against his policies and he has just claimed his hardcore. They will surely try to implement some of their policies, but we’ll see how it goes.

However, if those simplistic ideas were actually workable, they would have been implemented long ago. Real life is more complicated. As stated in my original comment, demographics are not on the side of the French, and neither are economic realities.

My purpose is not to say what will happen, but to try and suggest what people should lean towards. Moderation and tolerance is the key.

When I think of a policy, I always do the same mental exercise first. Imagine a worls into which you have not yet been born. You do not know if you will be English, French, rich poor, smart, dumb, handicapped, healthy, etc. In our Quebec, 80% of the population are French. They are insecure and worried about losing their culture. The English population forms 8.2% as of 2006. The remainder are allophone. The French population is getting old and are not having enough children. Time is not on their side and they know it, hence the fear.

When you develop a suggested policy or idea, make one that is fair to all groups within the existing context, under the assumption that you do not know what you will be once born.

That is what I did with my suggestion.

I feel it is dangerous to run to extremes of anti-French fear, as you have done. That way of thinking reduces the world of reasonable people. If you can stay reasonable and fair to all, we can hope for a better world. If you run to an extreme that benefits yourself, you increase the probability of trouble for everyone.

By the way, for your information, I’m in my late 30’s, my mother was British, my father was French-Canadian, my wife is French (was a separatist, but has abandoned that). My son is, age 5, is bilingual. My daughter is 2 and understands both languages perfectly.

La revanche des berceaux. Translation: The revenge of the cradles. This part is a history lesson. I'm not going to regurgitate the history books, so for more information, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Revanche_des_berceaux and other websites on this subject. There's lots.

This is actually what you're writing about, except the process is now reversing after over 250 years. Mordechai Richler, in his book "Oh Canada! Oh Quebec! was berated by many for referring to the French Roman Catholic women who delivered babies like sows, but boy was it good business for the Church!

When the Quiet Revolution came a full 200 years after La revanche des berceaux, it ended generation after generation of living and sacrificing everything for the Church. Personally, I have plenty to say about the Roman Catholic church, but I'll refrain from writing it here because I don't want to get started, and I'm sure it would offend many, many readers of this blog. The attitudes towards the Church the last half century world-wide speak volumes, and the Quiet Revolution is a major chapter in what has happened. No, I'm not a bigot because my attitude towards most religions, including my own, is not savory. Too much deceit, coersion and perversion.

The declining birthrate is the result of the Quiet Revolution and the lies, coersion and deceit that caused it. Maybe the objective of a revanche des berceaux. just postponed the inevitable, not permanently solve the problem. Solution: Québécois pur laine, as the editor suggests, will have to go back and make lots 'n' lots 'n' lots 'n' lots 'n' lots 'n' lots 'n' lots 'n' lots 'n'lots 'n' lots 'n' lots 'n' lots 'n' lots 'n' lotsa babies!

@L.Steve: Tolerance and moderation has been used for the past 35-40 with these separatists but as you can see from the responses on this Blog, they do not have any tolerance or moderation. I'm afraid I'm running out of it too because I used to think that was the answer also. The old "somethings gotta give" is becoming more and more apparent and it is not going to get better with a Marois/Legault combination in Quebec city. Perhaps it's time to let the areas of Quebec that want to go - go and the rest of us can go back to a normal lifestyle, French and English living in harmony which we do in the Outaouais area and have for 100 years or so.

I'm not implying that the likes of SR represent the entirety of Quebec society only that the hard core separatists are not at all interested in getting along with anyone. We would really have big problems if sane Quebecers all felt like SR. All I'm suggesting is that we let them decide their own fate outside of Canada. As was suggested, I think in a Gazette article, each municipality hold it's own referendum and let those areas go that want to go. They will end up with a Hodge-Podge variety of spaces, but a quiet permanent solution for them and us. They would be happier and so would we.

Morty Richler (rest his soul) was a great author and it's a shame how poorly received Oh Canada! Oh Quebec was and is. Despite some (very few) errors, it is a very well written insight into the discrimination Anglo-Quebecers and Allo-Quebecers have been subject to in recent years. I believe the low birth rate here in Quebec can be attributed to many things, one is, as you pointed out Mr. Sauga, the Quiet Revolution lead to lack of faith among the francophone community, another is the lack of appeal immigrants compared to other provinces like Ontario and British Columbia. If more immigrants wanted to come here, there would likely be a higher birthrate, and a younger population, as most countries in Africa, Asia and South America tend to be very religious and as a result the people from there have more children. Despite not being Catholic, I think more faith in the province could be beneficial to everyone. Pauline Marois has made modern Quebec politics' absolute epitome of double standards with her new "Crucifix, oui" "Yarmulke, non" policy.

Editor, thanks for the article on Djemila Benhabib. The article on this opportunist is rather boring* but the reader comments are amazing, especially the one you quoted (mounir777). The gentleman hits the nail on the head describing the scam going on in this province. His comment is something that our Belgian contributor should read to find out what goes on below the surface here specifically, how "protection of language" may go wrong in general, and what examples in the fight for "linguistic justice" (if you believe in this concept) not to follow.

As for Charest, no wonder he's doing a 180 on his Monday remarks. What was his advisory team thinking pushing him out to do this? To say "Bill 101" in the same sentence as "federal institution". I think those advisers should be fired, and maybe even accused of secretly working for another party.

--------

The story on her is interesting only if you take a side view to it and think in terms of how you have to sell out and almost renounce your past self in order to become "integrated". Also note that all the commenters are French speakers. It goes to show what many of us have said here many times- speaking French is hardly enough. Some form of "ideological" conversion is also required.

wow - just heard on the news that Mr. Legault is proposing that if McGill medical graduates leave Quebec, they should have to re-pay their tuition fees (usually around $100,000 or so). Now these people want to tell doctors where they can practice medicine if they go to school in Montreal. Insane!

Provinces usually have programs like this to retain their graduates, but usually it is a reward in the form of tax credits rather than penalties in the form of extra tuition.

If Legault's going down that route, he'd be better off raising the tuition to 5000$ and promising a tax credit of 4000$ for those who graduate & stay in Quebec. Sparse it out over the years for better effect.

@L. Steve - Right with you with subsidizing people who go to university just because they have no better idea of what to do with their lives. I believe that in New Brunswick they will reduce your student loan if you finish your degree within the standard four years. That's a good idea too. The idea is to provide incentives to succeed and to stay, not to punish people from doing otherwise.

Likewise I also don't believe in throwing good money after bad - continuously lending to students who are failing/changing majors all the time.

One of my friends in undergrad's mother lived on the teat of the state; the state gave her loans and money for food and heating and such because she was a "student" and had a dependent daughter (the daughter wanted to leave but was guilt-tripped into staying because of the government assistance given to her mother). Of course I say "student" because she would take a course a semester and fail it.

The daughter herself was not much better than her mother - she must have failed/switched her major four times during the four years that I was there. Everytime she could convince some loan officer to give her some more; eventually she was diagnosed with a learning disability and got money for it; I believe she bought a laptop with it. Of course as a top student I had to walk to campus and use their computer labs to get anything done.

My uncle's ex-wife was never able to hold a job in her life, or a major - she would quit, drop out or be fired from anything. Of course that made her a prime candidate for a new government program aimed at sending adults to university; a program that not only paid their tuition but gave them a stipend of about 15 000$ a year to live on.

Why waste money on such people who have shown again and again that they aren't doing anything productive with it? Why reward failure? Why throw money at people who wander aimlessly from The smart thing to do is to take that money and put it in people who are going somewhere - people who are passing their classes with high grades and are achieving their goals.

We don't spend all our energy on the slowest runners when trying to build up an olympic team, so why do we do it when it comes to education?

Actually family court, child support enforcement in North America is the place to be in if you want to power trip. Family court judges basically ignore human rights and the law and can basically enforce anything on anyone. These Ontario bureaucrats are power tripping and want to know exactly what is being said between the non custodial parent (mainly the ex husband) and the child. I hope some francophone parents in Ontario make this into a big human rights issue and some how launch a class action lawsuit on the "childrens' aid society). I am sure this is happening to allophone families as well.

Porky Pie is UK slang for a Big story. It is a story with not factual details to back it up. In our Country of Canada all people of all languages have a right to a translator no matter what department or Jurisdiction with service Canada, They may have to wait a time till they find a translator who is in non conflict that's all there is to that.

These parents if they exist may masking something else that has nothing to do with language.

First, they are not interacting with Services Canada, they are interacting with some provincial agency.

Second, there has already been a number of complains sent to the ministry, not sure if of justice or of francophone affairs; in any case the minister has only commented that his office was looking into the complaints, nothing more.

By which I mean, that the English press only publishes a piece about access to French services by Francophones if it's irrelevant and can get anglophones riled up at the irrelevance. For instance, this year at the Stampede they used the bilingual national anthem on the first day and the unilingual English anthem thereafter, and some people complained about it. Who cares, right? They probably only sing the Anthem in French in Quebec (if it's sung at all!), a complete non-issue.

But on this, where it's important - nothing. Imagine if it was an English parent forced to talk to their children in French during a nasty divorce? No one can deny that it's really unfair and that it should get looked into. At the very least, the third parties hired by the government to supervise visits could accept that interpreters come.

If you go to the article you see so many Pur Lainers from Montreal commenting about how bill 101 is needed to prevent these kinds of things in Canada and from preventing the same things happening to francophones in Quebec. They can't even see their own hypocrisy. In Ontario things will be rectified immediately and french speaking invigilators will be found where as in Quebec you have 35 years of tightening of bill 101 and expansion of anti minority laws. Despite bill 101 English in Montreal has preserved and expanded so they want to increase language legislation.

Legault and the CAQ is no better for anglo-Quebecers than are the Libs. Their platform contains anti-English promises, including abolishing English–language school boards, the last remaining vestige of elected representation for anglo-Quebecers. He even said he would invoke the notwithstanding clause in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to override constitutional protection of a citizen’s right to move to another province, apparently not realizing the notwithstanding clause doesn’t apply to mobility rights!

English-speaking federalist voters now have a choice in Tuesday’s Quebec election — between two parties that take their support for granted.

In an hour-long interview with The Gazette’s editorial board Wednesday, François Legault gave not a single reason why anglophones should vote for his Coalition Avenir Québec instead of Jean Charest’s Liberals. He even neglected to make his strongest argument for federalists to switch from the Liberals to the CAQ, which is to cast a tactical vote for the only party that still appears capable of denying the Parti Québécois a majority.

In fact, in a similar interview with Le Devoir the day before, Legault proposed two new anti-English measures. One is to adopt Bill 101’s rules on French in the workplace for the federal government and private companies under federal jurisdiction in Quebec. This would threaten protection for English in this province at the federal level by ending the equality of English with French on which national acceptance of official bilingualism is based.

Legault’s other new proposal is to erect a sort of financial Berlin Wall to reduce a brain drain of Quebec residents graduating from the McGill University medical school. His “McGill wall” would oblige Quebec doctors who leave the province to reimburse the government for at least part of the cost of their training.

Then, just before Legault’s interview with The Gazette, the Quebec Community Groups Network, an English-language umbrella group, released the CAQ’s response to a letter to party leaders seeking their positions on issues of particular concern to English-speaking voters. The only new, firm commitment in the CAQ’s response is to dedicate additional resources for anglophones wanting to learn French.

The CAQ election platform, however, contains several anti-English promises. A CAQ government would demand more powers over language from Ottawa. It would expand the role and increase the powers of the language-law enforcement agency, the Office québécois de la langue française. It would prevent students from transferring to publicly funded English schools from unsubsidized ones not subject to Bill 101. And it would abolish English school boards, along with the French ones, and replace them with administrative “service centres.”

The CAQ might be underestimating at least the symbolic importance to the English-speaking community of the school boards it elects. When a PQ government tried to discourage voting in English school-board elections in 1998, anglophones defied it by turning out to vote in record numbers.

And in his interview with The Gazette, Legault was unable to cite any legal opinion that the abolition of the elected English school boards would be constitutional. […]

Legault’s apparent constitutional ignorance doesn’t end there. He had told Le Devoir that, in erecting its “McGill wall,” a CAQ government would invoke the notwithstanding clause in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to override constitutional protection of a citizen’s right to move to another province. But the notwithstanding clause doesn’t apply to mobility rights.

And Legault’s ignorance is more than constitutional. When asked, he was unable to name a single democratic state that resorts to coercion like his “McGill wall” to discourage its citizens from leaving.

To be fair, Charest did backtrack on this idea. He went from "101 in federal offices", to "I will work with Ottawa on promoting French in federal offices".

Marois never backtracked on it, and neither will Legault. These two mean it, for them it's ideological. As it turned out for Charest it was an opportunistic move, he got greedy pandering to soft nationalists while also courting the anglo and allo vote.

My final verdict on the CAQ after watching it go from ambiguity at the beginning to more clear positions later on: it would attack our interests more than the PLQ ever would. So vote for the PLQ or don't vote at all. And don't let them give you that nonsense about Charest's "corruption". Instead, turn the tables on them and say: if I prefer Charest's corruption to the alternative, what does it say about the alternative.

In my rinding, PLQ is a sure thing and whether I vote for them or the others will not matter, so my vote will be symbolic. Although I was flirting with the idea of voting for Legault, after his last interview I decided I will vote Liberal.

FROM ED BROWNThe tory add states that Quebecf hands out welfare without encouraging people to get a job. In fact the Charest government changed that so an applicant for welfare must apply first to Emplois Quebec to prove he is willing to take a job. Ed

Sending an e-mail to Harper asking that he support the Anglophones, Allophones and moderate French Canadians in this Province by rejecting the notion of imposing Bill 101 on Federal buildings in Quebec. Warning him that imposing these restrictions is only supporting the separatists cause to claim all federal buildings in Quebec as their property should they vote to leave Canada. They will never cease and desist from these outrageous demands and the more we give in, the more they keep on demanding. Hopefully people will rise up against the new Bills that good old "PQunt" (plagiarized name)will be placing on the residents of this province. I'm to the point that I want those areas of Quebec that vote to leave to just go and leave the rest of us in peace.

FURTHER FROM BROWNThe amount of undecideds is very high. PQ voters liuke to brag they will how they nwill vote. The majority of undies will vote Liberal or InadeCAQ Remember Harry Truman, with all the polls against him the undecideds put him in. Ed

Still hoping for the Liberals Ed and all the people I've spoken to in this area seem to be sticking with Charest because he is the only viable option for federalists. That Legault will support every hair-brained idea that Pauline will come up with and pretty soon we will be arrested on the street for speaking English. The "notwithstanding" clause has to be removed from the constitution as soon as the radicals get their own areas of Quebec. I still keep hearing allegations of wrongdoing by Charest's government but have seen nothing concrete.

Option 1: Bring in white Frenchmen - problem: white Frenchmen have better places to go than QC, and if they come, they come to pick up on their English by enrolling in McGill and ConcordiaOption 2: Bring in French-speakers from the Maghreb - problem: not culturally compatible, not receptive to QC Inc's propaganda, loyal to competing ideological systems like their religionOption 3: Bring in non-English and non-French speakers from Asia, Africa, Europe - problem: they're anglophilic, taught English from early on and taught that English is to be used to communicate with others which is an attitude that's very hard to undo in a 9 month FSL class, many have some knowledge of English already, most are not receptive to QC Inc's propagandaOption 4: Stop immigration, raise reproduction rates of your people - problem: it's hard to convince a pampered and decadent society to have more children, children are a responsibility and responsibility is to be shied away from, children also interfere with careers, they cost money so that for every child an SUV might have to be replaced by a Kia which is small and blahOption 5: stop immigration without raising reproduction - population decline, no immigrants to do the jobs the Quebecois won't do

Adski, that is one awesome retort. Any surprise our resident Klansman has nothing more than 20 words that really don't touch on any of your points?

Still don't understand why others on this blog keep feeding the troll - especially after the Conservative party paid him to appear in their ad, giving him all the money he needs for an Angus-combo and a pack of Native ciggies to wash it down with.

Are you sure? My Grandparents came from Poland and I'm non French speaking Montrealer.My Dad spoke French, but knew you to be who you are. All us kids went on to learn more useful things than Quebecois.

So to my e-mail to Charest the other day, I received a response entirely in French. I had checked off "English" in the little box for my response. My e-mail to Harper today has not been responded to as yet. We'll see what happens there. Sent a copy of my Harper e-mail to Charest, again got a response entirely in French. Wrote back that I expected a reply to my first and second e-mail in English as I am a CANADIAN CITIZEN and am requesting a response in one of the official languages of this country CANADA. We'll see what happens from here.

My one and only response to you SR - Quebec IS PART OF CANADA and I don't care about your perceived idea that it's not. AS LONG AS QUEBEC IS PART OF CANADA AND UNTIL YOU GUYS GET YOUR OWN LITTLE PIECE OF LAND THAT IS LEFT WHEN YOU LEAVE, I HAVE A RIGHT TO CORRESPONDENCE IN ONE OF THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGES OF THIS COUNTRY CANADA. So stuff it and go to a Blog that will appreciate your input, if there is one.

just wanted to take this opportunity to congratulate you on your post - it is longer than your usual one- or two-liner, and it demonstrates what one can achieve if one put one's mind to it. I am certain that more often than not you will retreat to the safety of the one-liners, but I am also confident that we will see more and more of these insightful astute reflections. Who knows what the future holds - maybe of our lines? One can only hope.

I know from my girlfriend who works for the provincial government in Alberta that their minister once received a letter written in French; there was some discussion that the answer be translated in French by one of their translators, but in the end they decided to send it in English. I think they gave the reason that to do otherwise would falsely imply that the Minister could speak French or something to that effect.

What I mean is, unfortunately French and English are only official languages for federal institutions, not for provincial institutions, and different jurisdictions handle things differently. I think only New Brunswick provides equal service in both.

This mess that the Quebec minorities are in will only get better if we take our tax money and the land where we are the majority in out of the Quebec governments authority or at least try to do so. Things can only get better. Just starting, why not start ignoring bill 101. Even small things like Anglo majority boroughs and municipalities leaving the Montreal Urban community alliance and splitting off forming their own city with its own transit service, school board and police service. Hiring our own bureaucrats and police.

Allowing everyone in our own areas into the schools they choose, having a police force that will actually prevent the RPQ types from protesting, preventing violence. Quebec is unilaterally squashing basic rights and threatening to do more. There isn't much the Quebec government can do if the minorities just form their own "sovereign" governments. Quebec is just a banana republic it can only bark because those under its yoke actually legitimize the Quebec regime by obeying the anti minority laws. We pay 40% of the taxes and yet are only 20% of the population.

Another zinger - Pauline wants to restrict immigration to Montreal to French only ensuring that 50% of the island is French. To hear the announcer on CTV, no one in their right minds can believe the things that she is proposing under a revised Bill 101. He says that the Federal Government will have to jump in and protect the Canadian citizens from these fanatics and everyone, including the business community is very nervous, not just the average man on the street. Get the gun! We're off and running against this nut.

How could she ensure that all immigrants to Montreal would be French? Please elaborate. Do you mean she would only allow immigrants from French speaking countries to immigrate to Quebec and live in Montreal? If so, that is definitely an attack on human rights and could definitely count as discrimination! This is why it was a mistake to have given Quebec control over its immigration!

There was no explanation from the broadcaster concerning how she would ensure this would take place but I gather what you are saying is correct. Seems to me there would be no other way to ensure that except through passport and checking on addresses.

Boy, it sure shows how many amendments are needed to our constitution but the main one to start is the 'NOWWITHSTANDING' Clause. It should be removed tomorrow then the areas of responsibility can be reviewed so that this sort of thing can never happen again!

When one applies for immigration, language proficiency is one of the things one must report, along with number of children, marital status, health information, education, profession, etc. It's an easy step to throw away all the forms with a "no" checked next to "French".

Don't know how she intends to ensure that they move to, and remain in, Montreal. We'll need a whole new spy bureau to handle that. No money concerns there = it grows on those maple/money trees up in dem dere back woods. Even doctors, that we desperately need, I'm sure are turned away by our great Quebec immigration because they can't speak French but if they can communicate in English, would be greatly appreciated. Whole lotta sense in that!

I doubt that Marois wants to follow every immigrant to make sure that they remain in Montreal; it sounds more like she wants to make 100% of approved immigrants know french rather than the 50-60% or whatever it is now.

Yannick, are you positive about this? I haven't seen the news story yet, but the way Cutie003 described it makes me think that her plan is specifically ensuring that Montreal becomes at least 50% francophone, as in people who speak french at home, not those who can speak french but speak other languages at home. Otherwise this proposal wouldn't make sense because the majority of the island is already capable of speaking french.

That's just plain criminal. Shame on her for proposing this level of discrimination. So, basically, if I'm immigrating to Quebec from the UK with a PhD, and am fully fluent in french, someone from France with a master degree, and can't speak a word of english, would be favoured over me just because their home language is french? Unbelievable.

"Pauline wants to restrict immigration to Montreal to French only ensuring that 50% of the island is French."

What's your source on this? I can't find anything on this online.

This would be something along the lines of Harel's suggestion to shift immigrants around the province of QC, and direct new immigrants outside of Montreal. I can totally imagine Marois agreeing with this, but I can't find a source where she said it.

Yannick where can I catch up on the election on television in Alberta? What channels do you watch for the most in depth reporting and coverage from AB? I surfed eng/fr minimal coverage on CBC shameful actually CTV is heinous it's like Quebec doesn't exist fsake! Let me know ill look in here tomorrow Thanks Merci

The CTV News Channel will be covering the election in its entirety starting Tuesday night at 8pm Eastern Time, 6pm Mountain Time. I'll watch their newscast over CBC because CTV reporter Annie Demelt is a hottie!

FROM ED BROWNI got a letter from Hydro telling me I owe money. Apparently what I was paying for two years on the extended payments plan was not enough to cover my usage. I was paying exactly what they told me to pay. The letter ordered me to call right away or be cut off. After one hour waiting on the line they finally answered and told me that I would have to speak to collection department. They said they would transfer me so I waited another half hour and collection came on and asked if I spoke French. I explained in French that I was ok for conversation but for business purpose to make sure I got it straight I would prefer English. He saaid in that case stay on the line I will transfer you to someone English. I waited 20 more minutes and then the battery in my phone died. All the time you are waiting someone is talking constantly about Hydro Quebec's greatness. This I think is usage that kills the battery. I have sent them an email telling them when they find an English person, have them call me and we'll talk about my bill. Ed

FROM ED BROWNThere are ways we can fight. If we all refuse to pay income tax for example until English is recognized equally by their telephone people. Or refuse to pay Hydro until they return to press 1 for french press 2 for English. Equal footing. The trouble with this sort of rebellion is that it needs to be widespread. If only a handful try itthey'll just end up in trouble.After the election we should start discussing a partition party. If we can rouse some interest we'll form one. It would be a base to work from. Ed

Yes, I was thinking the same thing yesterday. We need a great number of people to participate. I am going to join a group here in the Outaouais called the Regional Association of Western Quebec. Their mission is to protect the English language. I don't know much more about it but will find out.